Hoyas

It is now tradition that Big T, Troy Cox gives us his MARs top 10. So here they are without further delay. Please make sure to renew your membership in January. Once the month ends members who have not renewed will be removed from TeamSnap access.

See you on the roads….

The Big T Top 10 2016

When I first thought about compiling a 2016 list this year, I thought I should maybe make it a Top 3. After the unbelievable results of 2015, 2016 seemed like a let down with the mass number of debilitating injuries we had suffered. “There is a very fine line between being incredibly fit and being incredibly injured.” .. there were a large number of us step over that line this year.

Once I started going through our year though, I started to see that we had some pretty amazing results and the Top 10 started to come together quickly.

Number 10 – BBQ. (Boston Baby Qualifier)

Kirsten Jewell runs a debut 3:28 marathon in Toronto on a nasty rainy windy day to qualify for Boston. She celebrates by getting pregnant and won’t be able to race Boston.

Number 9 – XC Nats

The one single race in Canada that brings together all the best middle and long distance runners in the country to one venue is XC Nationals in Kingston. Although we didn’t have the numbers racing this year compared to 2015, MARs presence was noticed. 11 racers in total and a 2nd consecutive silver for the M40 team in a deep competitive field.

Number 8 – Shout Out to the Kids

Cam “Levins” Heinz 4th place finish at OFSAA was spectacular.

I saw him with 800m to go in 14th place when he unleashed one of the most devastatingly impressive kicks I have ever seen to snag 4th.

Special mention to Fiona Shearing who raced a gutsy aggressive race to finish 12th.

Number 7 – Running in Circles

A small group of MARs runners went to the Ontario Indoor Masters Champs on March. 4 runners (Troy, Chris, Pierre and Mary) – 8 events – came home with 5 gold 1 silver and a bronze. Runner from the Huskies said “wow you guys are amazing .. you run XC, marathons AND indoor track”

” that’s because we are awesome and you’re not”

Number 6 – Snot Rocket and a Drunk

Our 3rd annual beer mile had 2 newcomers dominate the race.

3 months of heavy drinking and no running seems to make for great training for the beer mile as Lil T got out from behind his walker and crushed the men’s race.

Darla “The Snot Rocket Vodka Shooter” Coles destroyed the women’s field in her 1st beer mile. Impressive victory considering she is only slightly bigger than a bottle of beer.

Darla started trash talking last year’s winner Helen (who was unable to race this year) about the show down next year – this could be Pay-Per-View good.

Number 5 – 26.2 Then A Wedding

This makes this list not really for the results but for the event.

Lowell ran his usual ” just over 3 hour” marathon AGAIN. Look for Lowells new book titled ” How To Run A 3 Hour Marathon (but not under).

Chapter One ” 100k weeks while taking Monday to Friday off”.

Kat was racing with a gimpy knee and was only able to train on trails.

The MARs “royal couple” raced Sunday and woke up early Monday to be married … This has to be a MARs highlight.

Number 4 – The Danamil Double

Dan ” Danamil” Quigg raced a 50mile trail race at the end of April on trails that still had snow and ice on them and followed that up 4 weeks later by racing the Ottawa marathon.

This is impressive on so many levels.

Can you imagine running 50 miles ? No

Can imagine running them on ice and rocks and all the other horrible things nature leaves on the trails for you to fall over ? No

Can you imagine then running a marathon a month later ? No

Number 3 – CR for OG

Mary “The OG” Unsworth breaks 38 year old Canadian record in the W35 5000m indoor by 1 min!! Running 19:00.

MARs now has a CR in the books.

Number 2 – I hear there is a party in Boston in April

We all have different reasons why we run or what motivates us to push ourselves. When Tina Steele heard we had rented a house in Boston for the marathon – she thought that sounded like way too much fun to miss. The only way in ? BQ.

So the BQ quest began. With Tina’s race 6 weeks after Ottawa Tina was forced to train pretty much on her own with the help of other MARs members joining her for parts of workouts and long runs. Her intense determination and commitment to the marathon was awesome.

Having to delay race day by 2 weeks due to a conflict made the task even more difficult.

3:42 crushing her BQ qualifying time and reserving her spot at the MARs Boston house is well deserved at number 2.

Number 1 – Hottawa marathon

With 12 marathoners plus runners in 1/2 and 10k, MARs had a huge contingent of runners going to Ottawa and all marathoners aiming for BQs.

On the Friday before race day there was talk of cancelling the race due to heat concerns.

Unfazed, the group towed the line with optimism even though the heat was still a major concern.

I am still in awe over the results we posted that day. Every single runner ran as well if not better that we could have imagined especially with the weather.

After one race in the Breslin Cup for 2016, MARs finds itself in uncharted territory, finishing the day in second place overall for the first time ever. Finishing third and fourth overall were Troy Cox and Chris Watson, both first in their age categories. First woman was our Mary Unsworth who also won her age category, as did Kat Ahokas.

Our Men’s 40-49 and Women’s 30–39 teams both placed first and our Men’s 30-39 team placed third overall.

An exciting start to the XC Season.

Join us this week at Arrowhead Park landing strip at 6:30 am for a 6K time trial on the Hoya Hills XC Course. See TeamSnap calendar for other workout details.

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Summer is fading. Bad news for some but not those who love cross country running. Our season starts now!

MARs will launch its 2016 season with a fun race, Friday Aug 22 at 6:30, with registration at 6:15 at Conroy Track. The race is free to MARs members and anyone in the community who signs a waiver. The course will be 5K. The race will be part of an MARs Evening Cross Country Running Camp this week (5-8pm) with camp participants finishing their week with a race. Bring a friend and come try it out. To register for the race click here.

MARs XC season has several races this year. All are optional. Your first race (except Muskoka Mud Run) ever in XC will be on us and the dates are as follows (distances listed are Masters distances):

Cross country morning workouts for MARs members are Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:15 am beginning August 29 at Conroy Track and Sundays at 7:30 am (location TBA weekly). Find details at the TeamSnap calendar.

Hoyas XC Season begins Thursday September 8 with an 11:30 am team meeting and first practice after school at 3:20pm in the school cafeteria. If you’re not running yet it is time to start!

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MARs entered May on a high note with several great results today at the Toronto Marathon,Half Marathon and 10K. In the marathon, Doug Neudorf and Kirsten Jewell both ran Boston qualifying times in 3:14:07 and 3:28:55 respectively placing 7th and 9th in their categories. Kirsten was 31st woman overall. Congratulations to Doug and Kirsten! Continue reading →

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It’s hard to think about summer when it’s still winter outside. But don’t miss an opportunity to sign up for the MARs Summer Evening Cross Country Running Camp. Space will be limited to 30 runners. Runners 13 and older and adults are welcome. Details below.